Flower holder and arranger



May 5, 1964 1.. D. DEANER FLOWER HOLDER AND ARRANGER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 23, 1962 I INVENTOR.

ZELAND 0. OEANER 3% @aw-wl A rr RNEYS UTT y 1964 1.. D. DEANER 3,131,511

FLOWER HOLDER AND ARRANGER Filed April 25, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 %l\ 58 ma /2 214w, WW

United States Patent M 3,131,511 FLOWER HQLDER AND ARRANGER Leland D. Deaner, 5499 New Milford Road, Ravenna, Ohio Filed Apr. 23, 1962, Ser. No. 189,435 1 Claim. (Cl. 47-41) This invention relates to a novel holder and arranger device for flowers and the like, and to a novel floral display embodying such device. More specifically this invention provides a novel holder for articles having stems, such as flowers, greens sprigs and the like, and which also serves as an arranger to facilitate the positioning of the articles to constitute an attractive and artistic display, even though the person assembling the articles in the holder may not have any particular talent or training for creating such displays.

The present invention accordingly provides a novel holder device of this character which accomplishes its intended purpose to better advantage than other such devices heretofore proposed and which is of a simple and practical construction.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my earlier application Serial No. 47,647 filed August 5, 1960.

Holder devices of this character are frequently used in homes and restaurants for holding flowers, sprigs and the like and it is desirable that the holder be usable with a liquid container adapted to contain a supply of water for contact by the stems of the flowers and sprigs for keeping such articles in a fresh condition. When the holder is thus used in a home or restaurant it will be used repeatedly in making different floral displays but, very frequently, the holder will be used in a funeral parlor or other place where a single use only is required and after which the holder is usually discarded.

As another object thereof, this invention accordingly provides a holder device of a novel construction suitable for these different uses and which can be economically produced, as by being molded from plastic material.

A further object is to provide a novel holder device of the character above mentioned which can be used for various kinds of flowers, including those having relatively weak stems as well as those having relatively stiif stems, and which comprises upright tubular holder members in a spaced relation on a hollow body and each having a passage of a size to generally receive only one flower stem, whereby the flowers are held in a distrib uted relation to constitute an attractive display and with the stems thereof in a depending relation for contact with liquid in a liquid container to which the holder device has been applied.

Still another object is to provide such a novel holder device having tubular holder members for receiving the stems of flowers, and also having provision thereon for holding greens sprigs in a concealing relation to the body and tubular holder members of the device.

A further object is to provide such a novel holder device in which the form of the tubular holder members is such that they will be capable of gripping and holding certain flower stems in inclined positions and at de sired elevations for locating the flower blossoms and foliage to best advantage in the display being created.

Additionally, this invention provides a novel holderarranger device of the character above indicated and having one or more of the characteristics that the device includes groups of vertical tubular holder members at different elevations, that the device includes horizontal wall means and the tubular holder members have their lower ends connected therewith so as to terminate at such wall means, that the device includes a hollow trunk means which supports an upper group of tubular holder members, that the hollow trunk means is of a polygonal 3,131,511 Patented May 5, 1964 cross-sectional shape and the tubular holder members of a lower group of such members are located adjacent the sides of the polygonal shape, that certain of the tubular holder members have truncated upper end portions for holding flower heads in a tilted position for viewing thereof to better advantage, that the device comprises a plurality of connected preformed sections molded from plastic material, that the device includes a depending lower sleeve portion adapted to extend into the liquid container, and that the device is provided with seat means around the sleeve portion and adapting the device for support engagement with different-sized liquid containers.

Other objects, novel characteristics and advantages of this invention will be apparent in the following detailed description and in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which,

FIG. 1 is a side elevation, with portions broken away, showing a holder-arranger device embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the device;

FIG. 3 is a partial vertical section taken through the device as indicated by section line 33 of FIG. 2 and showing relatively stiff flower stems disposed in certain of the tubular holder members;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation showing a novel floral display embodying the holder-arranger of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevational view showing a flower supported by engagement of the head thereof with the truncated support portion of one of the tubular holder members; and

FIG. 6 is mainly a side elevation showing the holderarranger applied to another form of liquid container.

As a practical embodiment of this invention the draw ings show the novel flower holder-arranger device It), hereinafter referred to merely as a holder device, as comprising a hollow body 11 having a base portion 12 adapted for supporting engagement with a liquid container 13, and an upright trunk portion 14 connected with the base portion and rising thereabove. The holder device lll also comprises upright tubular holder members 15 adapted to receive the stems of the flowers and, in this case, comprising groups of laterally spaced upper and lower holder members 16 and 17. The tubular holder members 15 have passages 18 therein which receive the stems of the flowers and communicate with an inner space or chamber 19 of the device so that such stems can extend downwardly into water or other liquid 20 of the container 13.

The base portion 12 is here shown as comprising a lateral external flange projection 22 extending around the device, and a central depending sleeve portion 23 which is connected around the upper end thereof with the lateral flange projection by a tapered annular connecting portion 24. The base portion 12 is also formed, in part, by a laterally extending hollow ledge portion 21 extending around the trunk portion 14 at the lower endthereof.

The sleeve portion 23 defines a passage 25 as a downward extension of the chamber 19 and through which the stems of the flowers can extend into the liquid 20 of the container 13. The upper end of the passage 25 is in direct communication with the chamber 19 so that when the stems of the flowers are inserted into the passages 18 of the holder members 15 they will move freely downwardly into and through the sleeve portion 23. The passage 25 is open at the lower end thereof which permits the stems to extend therethrough, and also permits the liquid 29 of the container 13 to rise to a corresponding level within the sleeve portion 23.

When the holder device 10 is placed on the container 13 the depending sleeve portion 23 of the base 12 extends into the container and becomes suspended therein by the engagement of the underside of the flange 22 with the annular top rim 27 of the container. This position of the sleeve portion 2-3 tends to stabilize the holder device ltl on the container 13 and to prevent accidental tipping of the holder device or disengagement thereof from the container. The sleeve portion 23 also directs the flower stems downwardly into the liquid 2% as mentioned above.

To adapt'the holder device for supporting engagement with containers of different sizes, the annular connecting portion 24 is provided with an upper series of annular ridges 28 in a stepped arrangement as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 and, at a lower point thereof, the sleeve portion 23 is provided with a lower series of such annular ridges 2h in a similar stepped arrangement. To further adapt the holder device It) for seating engagement with containers of different sizes and shapes, the sleeve portion 2-3 is provided with a dowm 'ardly convergent taper below the stepped ridges 29 and with a cylindrical section 3t? between the upper and lower groups of stepped ridges.

The cylindrical section 3t? is made of a diameter to fit in a container of a given standard size such as in the top opening of a conventional flower pot of a given standard size. The stepped ridges 23 and 29 provide a large number of annular seats of different transverse dimensions for engagement with containers of widely varying sizes. The underside of the flange 22 provides a flat annular seating surface of a radial width to accommodate considerable variation in the transverse dimension of the container 13. The downwardly converging taper of the sleeve portion 23 is of a suitable angular value to adapt the holder device 16 for use on a container having a correspondingly tapered side wall such as on the conventional tumbler 32 shown in FIG. 6.

The trunlr portion 14 is of a polygonal cross-sectional shape, in this case a generally triangular shape as shown in FIG. 2, although other polygonal shapes can be used. The polygonal shape for the trunk portion 14 provides the same with upright corner portions 35 and side walls as in a connected relation therearound and forming the perimeter of such trunk portion. At the up er end of the trunk portion 14 the holder device 18 is provided with horizontal top wall means 37 with which the upper holder members 16 are connected at their lower ends. As shown in FIG. 2 the upper holder members 16 are located at and above the corner portions 35 of the trunk portion 14 with one such upper holder member located at each corner portion of the trunk.

The ledge portion 21 of the base 12 includes a lower horizontal wall means 49 with which the lower end of the trunk portion 14 is connected and which extends laterally beyond the trunk and in a surrounding relation thereto as shown in FIG. 2. The lower holder members 17 extend upwardly from the lower horizontal wall means 40 and have their lower ends connected therewith. The lower holder members 17 are located at points substantially opposite the centers of the side walls 36 of the polygonal-shaped trunk portion 14.

The arrangement above described for the upper and lower holder members 16 and 17 will accordingly be recognized as a symmetrical arrangement in which the upper holder members 16 are located at the corners of the trunk portion 14 and the lower holder members 17 are located opposite the midpoints of the side walls 36 of the trunk portion. in addition to achieving a symmetrical arrangement for the upper and lower holder members, this construction affords more space on the lower horizontal wall means 49 for the lower holder members 17 inasmuch as the side walls 36 have the relationship of being chords lying within the outer circumference of the ledge portion 21. As shown in FIG. 2 the ledge portion 21 is of maximum radial width along a radial line passing through the midpoint of a side wall 36, and the lower holder members 17 are accordingly located on such radial lines to take advantage of such greater width at these locations.

The trunk portion 14 is also provided at the upper end thereof with a central tubular holder member 41 occupying a more or less dominant position on the holder device 19 by being located substantially centrally of the group of upper holder members 16. The holder member 41 is of greater length and extends to a substantially greater height than any of the other holder members of the device, and preferably rises to an elevation well above the upper ends of the upper holder members 16 so that when a flower is placed in the central holder member it will occupy a prominent and dominating position in the floral arrangement.

The central holder member 41 is preferably formed so that the top 42 thereof lies in a transverse plane which is normal to the axis of this holder member. The location of the holder member 41 is also preferably such that the axis 43 of its passage 44 is coincident with the central axis of the trunk portion 14. For a purpose to be explained hereinafter, the upper and lower holder members 15 and 17 are provided with truncated end portions 45 at the upper end thereof which are disposed in an inclined relation facing outwardly from the central axis 43.

The upper and lower holder members 16 and 17 are all of a size such that the passages 18 thereof are preferably of a transverse dimension to readily accommodate only one flower stem. This is likewise true of the com tral holder member 41 and the passage 44 thereof. The passages 13 and 44 are of a transverse dimension sufliciently larger than the diameter of ordinary flower stems to permit insertion of the stems into such passages even though the stems may have small lateral branches projecting therefrom or may have leaves attached thereto, or both. The upper and lower holder members 16 and 17 terminate respectively at the upper and lower horizontal wall means 37 and 40 with which their lower ends are connected. The central holder member 41 likewise terminates at the upper wall means 40. The passages 18 and 44 of these holder members all extend to the horizontal wall means 37 and 4t) and end at such wall means by being in communication therethrough with the chamber 19 of the holder device.

As is clearly shown in FIG. 2, the upper holder members 16 are spaced radially outward from the wall of the central holder member 41. The intervening spaces between the holder members 16 and the central holder member 41 are utilized to accommodate additional tubular holder members 48 provided on the upper wall means 37. The additional holder members 48 are formed by pairs of curved upright walls 49 which have their vertical edges joined to the holder members 16 and 41 and bridge the space between these members. The holder members d3 define passages 50 for receiving the stems of other articles such as the stems of greens sprigs although, if desired, the holder members 48 can be used to hold additional flowers instead of sprigs.

The holder members 48 can conveniently be referred to as intervening upper holder members because of their intervening location between the holder members 16 and 4 1 and are preferably of a somewhat shorter height than the holder members 16. The upper intervening holder members 48 terminate at the upper wall means 37 by having their lower ends connected therewith, and the passages Sll likewise at such upper wall means but communicate therethrough with the chamber 19.

The lower horizontal wall means 40 is similarly provided with lower intervening holder members 52 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 which are located between the lower holder members 17 and the associated side Walls 36 of the trunk portion 14. The lower intervening holder members 52 are formed by pairs of curved upright walls 53 having their vertical edges joined to the trunk portion 14 and to the holder members 17 in a bridging relation across the space therebetween.

The lower intervening holder members 52 terminate at the horizontal wall means 4! and provide passages 54 which likewise end at this wall means but communicate therethrough with the chamber 19 of the device. The passages 54 are adapted to receive the stems of display articles such as greens sprigs although, if desired, the holder members 52 can be used for holding additional flowers instead of sprigs. The lower intermediate holder members 52 are preferably of a height somewhat shorter than the lower holder members 17 as shown in FIG. 3.

At locations opposite the corners 35 of the trunk portion 14 the lower wall means 419 is provided with additional tubular holder members 58 which extend thereabove but which are somewhat shorter than the holder members 17 and 52. Since the additional holder members 58 are located opposite the corners of the trunk portion 14 where the radial width of the wall means 40 is narrowest, these holder members are shown as being of a somewhat smaller transverse dimension than the holder members 17. The additional holder members 58 are preferably joined along the upright inner edges thereof with the corner portions 35 of the trunk 14 and provide passages 59 for receiving the stems of articles such as greens sprigs although, if desired, these holder members can be used to hold additional flowers instead of sprigs. The holder members 58 terminate at the wall means 40 and the passages 59 thereof likewise end at this wall means but communicate therethrough with the chamber 19 of the device.

In addition to the tubular holder members 17, 52 and 58, the lower wall means 40 is provided with holes 61 at locations spaced around the trunk portion 14. The holes 61 communicate directly with the chamber 19 and are preferably located at points spaced at equal arcuate distances between the holder members 17 and 58. As shown in FIG. 2 the holes 61 are preferably located on a circle having its center on the axis 43 and having its circumference passing through the centers of the holder members 17 and 58. The holes 61 accommodate the stems of greens sprigs although, if desired, these holes can be used to hold additional flowers instead of sprigs.

FIG. 4 of the drawings shows the holder device being used for holding and arranging flowers 62 and greens sprigs 63 and forms, with these articles, a novel floral display 64. The flowers 62 comprise stems 66, blossoms 67 carried by the stems, and foliage branching from the stems and here shown as comprising leaves 68. The sprigs 63 have stems 69 which are usually of an upwardly branching character and the branches carry fine leaves or needles. Greens sprigs of various kinds can be used provided they have stems for insertion into the holder passages and holes.

The flowers 62 are shown in FIG. 4 as being of the kind whose stems 66 are relatively still? but resilient. When the stems of these flowers are inserted into the holder members 16, 17 and 41, they are retained in a generally upright position but the stems received in the holder members 16 and 17 usually assume a tilted or bowed relation and an outwardly inclined and diverging position. This inclined position is desirable for the flowers of the holder members 16 and 17 because it gives the display 64 a more spread-out character in which the blossoms 67 have a more natural and pleasing appearance as well as a better distribution around the display. The stems 66 received in the holder members 16 and 17 usually do not extend to or touch the bottom of the container 13. When the flower stems 66 do not touch or rest on the bottom of the container 13 the flowers can better assume the outwardly inclined position referred to above.

The flower 72 which is placed in the tall central holder member 2-1 is preferably a flower having a stem 73 sufficiently long for the lower end thereof to engage and rest on the bottom of the container 13. The flower 72 will then be supported by the central holder member 41 in a substantially vertical position with the uppermost blossoms 7 4 thereof at a height surmounting and dominating the floral display 64.

The greens sprigs 63 are placed in the holder members 48, 52 and 58 and in the holes 61 so that the sprigs are supported in these holder members and holes in a position with the branches and foliage of the sprigs in a concealing relation to the trunk portion 14 and to the holder members 16, 17 and 41 which contain the flowers. In addition to concealing the trunk portion 14 and the holder members 16, 17 and 41, the sprigs 63 also provide a background contrast for the blossoms of the flowers and give the display 64 a more striking and ornamental appearance.

Although the holder members 16, 17 and 41 have been referred to above and are shown in FIG. 4 as used for holding flowers having relatively stiif stems, these holder members can also be used to advantage for holding other flowers having weak or limp stems, such as petunias or the like, when the latter type of flowers are available and the person creating the floral display wishes to use them. Flowers having such weak or limp stems have heretofore been used in floral displays to only a very limited extent because of the inability of prior holding devices to properly support such flowers.

When flowers having weak or limp stems have been used heretofore in floral displays it has usually been necessary to insert or apply wires to the stems for stiffening the same and, if this is not done, a satisfactory display cannot ordinarily be achieved with the flower holding devices of the prior art. Because of the additional expense of such stiffening wires and the labor of applying the same, the flowers having weak or limp stems have frequently been excluded from use in floral displays notwithstanding the beauty of such flowers and the abundance thereof at various times.

The novel holder device 10, however, provides good support for flowers having such weak or limp stems be cause the holder members 16, 17 and 41 have passages of a size to generally receive the stem and attached leaves of only one flower, as referred to above, and these holders will then support such single flower because the stem inserted in the holder passage extends downwardly therethrough in a more or less suspended condition with the flower blossom or blossoms on the upper portion or portions of such stem located above the top of the holder member.

When the flowers used in the holder device 10 have been inserted in the holder members in the individual relation referred to above, a pleasing and artistic distribution of the blossoms is achieved. The flowers and their stems are then also supported in a separated relation so that air can circulate through the display and along and around the flower stems. This is desirable because it prevents or retards deterioration and molding which has heretofore been prone to occur when flowers and flower stems are maintained in a crowded or squeezed relation. These advantages are also achieved in the display 64 for the greens sprigs 63.

When the holder members 16 and 17 have the truncated upper ends 45 referred to above, each truncated end has a high edge portion 74 and a low edge portion 75 located on the holder member at opposite sides of the passage 18 thereof. The end of the passage 18 assumes an elliptical shape at the truncated portion so that the lower edge portion 75 is of knife-edge form and located at the lowermost point of the lower arc of the ellipse. Since the holder members 16 and 17 terminate at the walls 37 and 41 respectively, the passages 18 of these holder members are of a relatively short vertical length particularly along the outer side thereof, that is, the side adjacent the corner edge 75.

When a relatively stiff flower stem, such as the flower stem 66 of FIG. 3, is inserted in a holder member 16 having the truncated portion 45 at its upper end, the stern assumes an upwardly and outwardly inclined position resting on the lower corner edge 75 as a fulcrum edge. The blossoms and foliage carried by the stem 66 and located above and outwardly of the holder member 16, constitute over-balancing weight on the projecting stem por- 1'7, 52 and 58 of the latter.

"3' tion which tends to swing the flower downwardly about the edge 75 as a fulcrum point.

Since the holder member 16 of FIG. 3 terminates at the horizontal wall 37, the portion of the holder device located at the junction of this holder member with the horizontal wall forms a lower corner edge 77 lying substantially diagonally opposite the fulcrum edge 75. The swinging tendency referred to above for the stem 66 by the overhanging weight of the blossoms and foliage thereof causes the lower or left of this stem to be pressed downwardly against the fulcrum edge 75 and simultaneously causes the upper or right side of the stem to be pressed upwardly against the lower corner portion 77. This pressure engagement of the corner portions 75 and 77 with opposite sides of the stem 66 at points spaced longitudinally therealong will accordingly result in an effective gripping and holding action on the stem by these corner portions by which the flower will be maintained at a desired height in the holder member 16 for maximum decorative value of the blossoms and foliage in the display being created.

By constructing the holder device 10 with the holder members .16, 17, 48, 52 and 58 extending for only relatively short vertical heights above the horizontal walls 37 and 4t) and their lower ends terminating at such walls, the passage of these holder members will also be relatively short and will end at the points of communication thereof with the chamber 19 through the horizontal walls. This construction results in the advantage that the stems which project from the passages into the chamber 19 can assume an inclined and criss-cross relation in the chamber, as shown in FIG. 3, so that air flow and circulation can readily occur between and around the stem portions located within the holder device.

Other advantages are also achieved from the construction just above described, one being that the outwardly tilted and spread relation for the flower branches and blossoms and for the greens sprigs, which is desirable for a floral display of a balanced and artistic character, can be more readily obtained because of the inclined and criss-cnoss relation which the stems can assume in the chamber 19". Another advantage is that the short height of the holder member 16, 1'7, 48, 52 and 5-8 and the termination thereof at the horizontal walls 37 and 40 facilitates the molding of the holder device Ill and the components thereof.

The truncated upper ends 45 can also be used to advantage for supporting flower heads in a tilted position as shown in FIG. 5 for the flower head '78 whose projecting stem 79 is received in the passage 18 of an upper holder member '16. Since the underside of the flower head 78 is in engagement with the truncated portion as, the head will be supported and maintained in a tilted position inclined away from the central axis 4-3 for maximum decorative value in the display.

The holder device 1d can be made of any suitable material but is preferably made of plastic and is preferably molded to final shape from the plastic material in a molding operation carred out in suitable dies. The holder device it? preferably comprises connected sections which can be individually molded to better advantage and in less costly dies than melding of the entire holder device in a single operation.

The holder device it) is accordingly shown in the drawings as comprising connected sections, in this case three such sections comprising a lower or base section 81, an

intermediate or trunk section 32 and a top section 33.

7 portion 24 therebetween. The intermediate section 32 is here shown as comprising the trunk portion 14- and the hollow ledge portion 21 and the tubular holder members The top section 83 is here 8 shown as comprising the wall means 37 and the tubular holder members '16, l1 and 48 connected therewith.

The sections 81, 82 and 83 can be individually molded, as referred to above, and are assembled and suitably secured together in the relationship shown in the drawings and described above. These sections can be secured together as by means of suitable cement or by application thereto of a suitable liquid acting as an air-drying solvent for the plastic material from which the sections have been molded.

From the accompanying drawings and the foregoing detailed description it will now be understood that this invention provides a novel holder and arranger device for flowers and the like which can be economically produced and can be used to. great advantage and with great facility in producing an ornamental and artistic display even though the. person creating the display may have very little artistic ability. It will now also be recognized that this invention provides a novel fional display using such a holder-arranger device and by which the flowers, sprigs and the like, are positioned and supported to best advantage for achieving a display of maximum ornamental and artistic value.

Although the flower holding device of this invention has been illustrated and described herein to a somewhat detailed extent. it will be understood, of course, that the invention is not to be regarded as being limited correspondingly in scope but includes all changes and modifications coming within the terms of the claim hereof.

Having described my invention, I claim:

In a flonal display; a holder arranger device comprisinga hollow body containing a chamber and having horizontal wall means extending transversely of the chamber; vertical tubular holder members connected at their lower ends with, and terminating at, said wall means and each holder member having a passage of a transverse size to generally receive only one flower stem; the passages of said holder members being in communication with said chamber through openings in said wall means located adjacent the perimeter of said chamber; said holder members having truncated upper ends providing inclined support portions facing away from the central vertical axis of said chamber including concave sector-shaped outer knife-edge portions at the lower ends of said inclined support portions; inner corner edges on said body at the lower ends of said openings and on the side thereof diametrically opposite said outer knife-edge portions; and

fiowens having their stems receivedin the passages of said holder members, one such stem in each such passag and extending transversely of said knife-edge portions and said corner edges and into said chamber; said knife-edge portions serving as fulcrum edges and said inner corner edges being holding edges; said stems being disposed in an-upwardly land outwardly inclined relation relative to the central vertical axis of said device and engaged on opposite sides thereof and at points spaced longitudinally same at desired elevations in said passages.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,887,139 Richardson Nov. 8, 1932 2,035,467 Menge June 18, 1935 2,195,532 Hawkinson Apr. 2, 1940 2,836,933 Klein June 3, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 21,034 Great Britain Sept. 21, 1907 20,340 Great Britain Sept. 9, 1913 137,-123 Great Britain Jan. 8, 1920 224,053 Great Britain Nov. 6, 1924 324,205 Great Britain Ian. 23, 1930 841,677 Great Britain July 20, 1960- 

